Sociology and Social Policy

Debate over whether sociology should inform social policy:

• Worsley- Sociology is not always connected to social issues and therefore can exist without the purpose of informing social policy

• Brewer- Sociology should address social problems and interventions by sociologists should inform the construction of social policy

• However, within this debate, there are also reasons why sociology is not used by governments

Sociology and Social Policy:

• Theoretical approaches

• Why sociology doesn’t inform social policy

• Examples of when sociology has informed social policy

Theoretical approaches:

• Functionalism:

  • Durkheim- The purpose of sociology is to be able to analyse social issues and provide solutions, however later functionalists thought there should be fewer interventions

• Marxism:

  • Suspicious of the role of the state in maintaining the status of the elites at the expense of the working class, despite believing that sociology should change society

• Feminism:

  • Radical Feminism- Social policies serve to reinforce traditional gender roles and patriarchal interest

  • Liberal Feminism- Used existing structures to make positive changes for women

• Realist Theories:

  • Realist theories look to use sociological research to inform practical actions that governments can take to inform their policies, particularly on crime

• New Right:

  • State intervention should be minimal in the lives of individuals and the economy, however, the promotion of traditional conservative social policies has had impacts on society

    • Education- Marketisation and Privatisation

    • Welfare- Reduced state benefits and decrease in taxation

• Social Democratic Approaches:

  • The ideas of Giddens heavily influenced New Labour- ‘filling the gaps’ as part of third-way politics, combining social and economic development

Why doesn’t sociology inform social policy?

• Clash of ideologies- Critical approaches such as Marxism often clash with more moderate and conservative ideologies

• Costs- Sociologists look at ideal solutions that might not be practical. E.g. Black Report recommendations too costly to implement

• Methodologies- Interpretivist methods often are too small-scale to be implemented by governments that look for big-impact policies to ensure public support

• Think Tanks- Often government policy is influenced by groups of experts that propose ideas for closer connections to serving ministers than sociologists

• Impacts of globalisation- The role of international governmental organisations such as the IMF, the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation influence social policy, particularly on social spending and the economy

Examples of sociology informing social policy:

• Right and Left realist influence on tackling crime

• New Right ideologies influencing education

• Gidden’s Influence on New Labour

• Government funding for universities, charities and groups to conduct social research is often based on the social needs of society